Hayes lifts Ireland to rule Twickenham skies

THIS time there were no massive open field hits, no earth shattering bursts into the heart and soul of the opposition.

Instead, John Hayes was content to work on the basics and performed them so well that he was one of the major contributors to Saturday's famous victory.

The scrum was solid, the line-out an area of high productivity, not just because Malcolm O'Kelly and Paul O'Connell were ruling the air but also because they had a lifter of the calibre of the 19 stone giant from Cappamore.